


Tony Stark, Magic Man

by gurkenpflaster



Series: 1 in 14 Million [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternative Timelines, F/M, M/M, Minor Character Death, Multi, Parallel Universes, People who talk about Sex, Sorcerer Tony, Technomancer Tony, Tony Stark learns magic, Tony meets himself, but nothing too explicit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:40:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21646171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gurkenpflaster/pseuds/gurkenpflaster
Summary: After his well-earned happy end, Tony Stark finally has enough time to spend it with his family and friends.But soon boredom clouds his perfect happiness.The question is: what is left to achieve for a man who saved the universe?Maybe he needs a new hobby, but of course, he's not the person to do things only halfway.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Pepper Potts/Stephen Strange, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark/Stephen Strange, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark, Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
Series: 1 in 14 Million [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1389397
Comments: 9
Kudos: 98





	1. Just a Chat Between Old Friends

**Author's Note:**

> Continuation of [_The Only Way_](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18617551/chapters/44145649) so reading this first is advised. ;)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the two-year-anniversary of the triumph over Thanos, Tony visits Old Man Steve.  
> They talk.

"Hi, I'm here to see Captain Rogers." Tony beams his most brilliant smile at the woman behind the reception desk.

After a sudden decline of his health, Rogers had been forced to move into a nursing home. Tony still has a hard time to accept that Steve Rogers has become a frail old man. Maybe that's the reason why he used every excuse not to come here until now.

"Are you his son?" the receptionist asks unfazed.

"You don't know who I am?"

"No. Have we met before? I'm really not good with names... or faces."

Tony stares at her, not knowing how to feel. How could there be a single person on this earth who didn't recognize the savior of the universe?

"My name is Tony Stark."

"Nah... doesn't ring a bell."

He holds up his artificial arm, points at the arc reactor in the back of the hand and almost yells at her, "I am Iron Man!"

"I think there is something wrong with your hand. It glows."

"Don't you ever watch the news?"

"No, I'm not that interested what happens in the world. Keeps me sane."

After a deep breath, Tony forces himself to smile at her again.

"If you say so... Where can I find Mr. Rogers then?"

"Room 616."

"Thank you."

Nervously, Tony knocks at the door of room 616.

A weak voice calls him in.

"Hey, Cap?"

"Tony! So nice to see you!"

Steve appears genuinely delighted to see him. The soldier sits in a wheelchair in front of the window and looks out into the garden.

"Hey, man. Sorry, it took me so long to get here. I'm quite busy these days, you know..." He has a hard time looking Steve in the eyes.

"Don't worry. Bucky and Sam come over nearly every day. I'm not lonely."

The old man smiles softly at him, and Tony can't help but think that maybe Steve lies to make him feel less guilty.

"Oh yeah? That's great. Good to hear."

"Why don't you take a seat, Tony?" Steve points to a chair next to the window. It's an uncomfortable-looking plastic chair, and Tony frowns at it.

"Tell you what, Cap, how about we instead go outside to the park. The weather is a dream, probably for the last time this fall, so why waste it?"

Steve nods with a silent smile.

Ten minutes later, they sit side by side on a bench, Steve's wheelchair abandoned behind them. It was a bit of a shock for Tony to realize how thin and fragile the former super-soldier had become. Tony had been able to heave him effortlessly from the wheelchair to the bench.

Now they sit there in silence and watch the squirrels and the birds. From time to time, a jogger or someone walking their dog passes them, but overall they are alone.

"Ask." Steve's prompt rouses Tony from his thoughts.

"What?" It takes the engineer a second to understand what the other man has said.

"Ask. That's why you're here, isn't it?"

"I don't know what you-"

"Oh, come on, Stark! I'm too old for this shit!"

Tony raises an eyebrow. "Language, Captain."

"Was I really that obnoxious?"

With a laugh, Tony shrugs. "Sometimes."

Tony's voice is soft and neutral. He has let go of the bitterness he felt after Siberia and Titan a long time ago. It had poisoned his thoughts for far too long.

They remain silent for a moment until Steve finally says, "I never really apologized."

"No, you didn't."

"I'm sorry. I was wrong. About so many things. I was young and dumb back then..."

"Took you only eighty years to get to this conclusion, hu?"

Now it is Steve who laughs. "More like one hundred twenty years, but yeah..." He looks back at Tony. "Ask."

"So, what has happened to you since you disappeared to bring the stones back to the past?"

"First, I returned the stones, which is an adventure on its own that I'll have to tell you about someday."

"And then?"

"Then I went back in time to fulfill a promise I gave someone before I was frozen for nearly seventy years."

"What promise?"

"I promised Peggy Carter a dance." Lost in memories, Steve smiles. "My initial plan was to return home after that."

"But?"

"I stayed there. I wanted to come home from the war. Live a quiet life; maybe have a family."

"Doesn't sound like that worked out for you..."

"Somewhere out there was my best friend, getting tortured by Hydra. I couldn't sit at home with that knowledge and do nothing. Also, Peggy and Howard worked so hard to found S.H.I.E.L.D. The idea that Hydra was already working on the infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D., trying to destroy all this hard work – I couldn't let that happen!" The smile on his face turns earnest. "I realized by going back in time, I created an entirely new timeline! And now it was me, who was responsible for this new universe!"

"I always knew you had a bit of a god complex, Cap..."

"But it is true! There were so many horrible things I knew I could prevent from happening! I talked to Peggy about this. She kicked my ass for waiting over a month to tell her that I was from the future. Three days later, we went on a mission to save Bucky. After that, we started to dismantle Hydra. Piece by piece. That took us the better part of two decades, but in the end, it was worth it: in 1970, when Tony Stark was born, Hydra didn't exist anymore."

"Does that mean..." Tony can't finish this sentence.

Steve nods. "Without Hydra, nobody tried to kill Maria and Howard."

"So they..."

"Howard died in 2012, age 95. Maria died a year later from a malignant brain tumor. It was diagnosed far too late – nobody could have helped her, not even the world's most renowned neuro-surgeon. In the end, she didn't have to suffer much; it all happened very fast. I think she missed Howard, so she was at peace with her fate." Consolatory, Steve put his hand on Tony's. "But don't feel bad for them – they had many happy years together. I should know that: Peggy and I were their closest friends. Little Tony grew up along with our sons. They were thick as thieves, the three of them – they founded the Avengers in 1996."

"The other Tony became Iron Man before..." Another sentence Tony can't finish, but Steve seems to read his mind anyway.

"He was never kidnapped and held hostage in Afghanistan. He never was in Afghanistan for a weapon demonstration, period. Stark Industries had stopped manufacturing weapons two decades ago. I choose to think this was due to my good influence. I want to believe that it was me who convinced Howard that war had no future, unlike clean energy and wireless communication."

"Wow, you got through to my old man? That's quite a feat!"

"Well, it wasn't that difficult, took me only fifty years," Steve laughs. "So... where was I?"

"Avengers. In 1996," Tony helps.

"Oh, yes! They were marvelous!"

"They? What about you? Weren't you part of the team?"

"No. By then, the super-soldier serum had started to wear off. I started aging again, no super strength anymore and all the other benefits of the serum. In the beginning, it was hard for me to adjust."

"The Avengers without a Captain America. That sounds wrong."

"Don't say that – when the original Steve Rogers from that timeline was found in 2003, he joined the team."

"You left the other Steve nearly sixty years in the ice and practically lived _his life_? That's cold! No pun intended."

"We tried to find him."

Tony shot him a disbelieving look.

"No, really! But even with the knowledge of the exact coordinates where the plane had crashed and where they discovered me in 2011, we weren't able to find him. The currents in the region were too complex to predict his position and the sensor technology was not nearly advanced enough to locate him. So, it took us longer than expected to find him."

"Okay. Accepted. But after you had found him: wasn't that complicated with two Steve Rogerses at the same time?"

"When I returned to the 1950s, I changed my name. I haven't been Steve Rogers ever since." He looks down at his hands. "I was aware the whole time that he would return someday. I've taken so much from him already. As you said, I lived his life while he was frozen. The least I could do was to let him keep him his name. So I decided to become someone else. And honestly, it is odd to be called Steve Rogers again after such a long time."

"What name were you called?"

"Gant Carter. My second name and-"

"You took on Peggy's last name. That's surprisingly progressive for a guy your age," Tony teases.

"Well, that's me. Full of surprises." He turns and stares Tony straight in the eyes. "But enough about me. How are you? Your arm..."

"Was just an arm. I'm alive, that's all that matters." Tony shrugs and waves his artificial arm through the air. "Honestly, I think I am the luckiest guy on earth. I am alive, and I have the greatest family imaginable. You know, I feel like someone who survived being struck by lightning twice in a row and won the lottery jackpot afterward. No one should be that lucky."

"Look, if anybody I know ever deserved that, it is you, Tony."

Tony smiles at Steve or should he call him Gant now?

While he is still debating with himself, a portal opens a couple of feet away from them.

Tony and Steve look up in alarm, but it is just Morgan, who storms out and climbs on the bench beside her dad. She is covered all over with some white powder.

"Hey, little Miss. Is that flour?" Tony asks.

"No, cocaine. She found your stash and covered herself with the stuff. Now she's hyperactive. I've tried to calm her down for the last two hours. It's been a nightmare!" It's Stephen who has followed Morgan. Behind him, on the other side of the gateway, lies Happy's kitchen, but Tony is too thrown off the loop by the doctor's words to notice.

"Cocaine? What the hell?! I'm not hiding any coke!"

"Just kidding, Tony. Of course, it's flour. We're baking a cake. Have you forgotten what day tomorrow is?" Stephen is unmistakably annoyed.

"Taco Tuesday?"

For that, Stephen regards him with this 'are you serious?' stare as an answer. The one he only uses when Tony has said something particularly stupid.

"No, dummy! It's mommy's birthday!" Morgan snuggles closer to her father, getting the flour all over his clothes too in the process.

"Oh, dammit! I forgot. That explains the cake."

"Tony! We talked about that just yesterday!" Stephen snatches their daughter from the bench and carries her close to his hip.

"I wasn't listening..."

"Yeah, I figured that out. The reason why we're here: Where did you put the gift? We want to hide it inside the cake. As a surprise. You know, as I discussed with myself yesterday."

"You can't bake that into a cake! That would damage it!"

"Tony, we spent the last two hours trying to make a hollow cake, where we can put the present in! It's been a fuck-" he looks down at Morgan, "...a fantastic nightmare and I want to finish that now. So, please tell me where you stored the damn thing!"

"In the sock drawer. I wrapped it into the purple socks nobody likes."

"With good reason, they are revolting! Thank you, Tony." He leans down and gives Tony a floury kiss on the cheek. "See you later."

Through the closing portal, they can hear Stephen and Happy bickering.

"What did you do now! Look at this mess you made!" the doctor yells.

"I did nothing! It just did that on its own! What should we do now?"

"How should I know? I'm a doctor, not a pastry chef!"

Between their quarrel, Morgan yells laughing, "Fuck!"

Then the connection breaks, leaving Tony and Steve alone in the tranquility of the park.

"Oh, great... Seems like Morgan has learned a new word," Tony groans. "Pepper's going to kill us when she finds out."

Steve beside him, doesn't react. He is too busy laughing his ass off.

"Maybe I should go home and help them," Tony muses, a dreamy smile on his face. "Unbelievable that this is my life now. It's batshit crazy, but I love every damn second of it."

Steve wipes a tear from his eye. "Yes, go to them." His expression turns into a melancholic half-smile. "Treasure it while it lasts. Because it will end."

"A thing isn't beautiful because it lasts..." Tony recites Vision's words. Sympathetic, he puts his hand on Steve's arm. "Is that why you returned here in the end?"

Steve doesn't look at him, now with tears in his eyes for entirely different reasons.

"You have to know my sons, they were a lot like me. Physically, I mean. I must have passed some of the super-soldier serum on to them. But not my longevity. So, when the last of them died, I saw no reason to stay there and came back. There was one last thing I had to do: Pass on the shield..."

"I'm sorry for you."

"Don't. I had a long and happy life, as well as my family. There is nothing to regret."

Steve grabs Tony's shoulder, and the engineer is surprised how familiar this friendly gesture feels.

"Also, I firmly believe that I will see them again, one day."

"That's a nice thing to believe."

Tony tries to wipe a tear unnoticed out of the corner of his eye. But one look at Steve tells him it was in vain.

"I should return to my room. It'll be time for supper soon, and you should go home before Happy and Strange burn down the house – or strangle each other."

That makes Tony chuckle. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea... But what about you?"

"I'm fine, don't worry. Also, you'll come 'round next week, same time, right?"

"Deal."

Tony helps his friend back into the wheelchair and drops him off at his room before heading home. The annoying, chaotic, and wonderful home he wouldn't trade for anything in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who are confused because they have read this chapter before: You are not going crazy. This was the one-shot named "Just a Chat Between Old Friends". After posting the third chapter of "Tony Stark: Magic Man" I realized it fits better here as chapter one than as a one-shot. 
> 
> Okay, I've never been the biggest fan of Captain America. But some of the things that Marcus & McFeely or Russos have said in interviews after Avengers: Endgame was out, betrays everything Cap stands for. At least in my opinion.  
> For example, the Steve Rogers I saw in these movies, would never lean back, enjoy his life with Peggy and let his best friend suffer at the hands of Hydra. He wouldn't stay idle, while Maria and Howard Stark are assassinated. Not to mention all the other disasters of the 20th century - are they really expecting us to believe that Steve Rogers would have let 9/11 have happened?  
> Hell no!  
> That is why I wrote this.


	2. Something To Do

Pepper Potts-Stark is this close to killing her husband, the man she loves, the savior of the universe, and retired superhero.

And in this sentence lies the whole problem in a nutshell: Although Tony was semi-retired already in the five years before, this time it is different. Back then, he was leading a quiet life and licking his wounds from the first confrontation with Thanos. Now, after his miraculous recovery from being all but dead, Tony is bursting with energy like never before. So much so that it is becoming an issue. Unable to stop and rest even for a couple of hours, he's starting to drive Pepper insane.

When he starts disassembling the household appliances to 'improve' them, she asks irritated, "Isn't there any Avenger you could design a new suit or piece of equipment for?"

"Nope. Already did that."

"What about your work on the new prosthetics?"

"The guys at Stark Prosthetics practically kicked me off the project..." he explains wit a pout.

"...and why is that?"

"Because every time they adapted my concepts into something they could apply to the big market, I turn up and wreck their plans with a revised model. So, they notified me that they decided to ignore my future input until further notice."

"What about-" she begins, but he interrupts her.

"I miss Stephen."

No matter how annoyed she was seconds ago, this confession from him softens her heart. She sits down beside him and takes the tools out of his hands to lay them beside the remains of the disassembled Roomba.

"It's been three weeks, Pep."

"I know, but he told us it would take this long. Maybe even longer."

"I'm worried about him. What if he is in trouble? I cannot know because he has no way to tell from this mad dimension he went this time!"

"Tony..."

"...and even if he could tell me, there's nothing I can do because Iron Man won't stand a chance against this magic mumbo jumbo, no matter how advanced my armor is!"

"Tony..."

"So, there's nothing left for me than sitting here, hoping he'll come back in one piece and feeling useless..."

"Aren't you a bit melodramatic here? It's just a formal meeting between the Sorcerer Supremes of different realms, nothing dangerous."

He springs to his feet and starts pacing. "That's not the point! It may not be dangerous this time – but what about next time, when he's risking his life like the stupid, selfless idiot he is?" He sits down again, buries his face in his hands. "...and all I can do is wait and hope it'll be all right..."

Pepper sits there and regards him, unperturbed. "Welcome to my world."

He looks up at her in horror. "I'm so sorry I put you through this." Hesitantly, he lays his head on her shoulder. "How did you do that all this time?"

"I trusted you, just as I trust him now. I'm not going to lie; it wasn't always easy. But I learned this was what you had to do, and I accepted that."

"I'm not sure I can do that, Pep."

"Why don't you find yourself a hobby that doesn't include dismantling our household aids? You know, to distract yourself..."

"What do you have in mind?"

"I don't know... painting or knitting?"

"Do I look like someone who knits?"

"Tony, you look like someone who would take on the challenge and become the greatest knitter in the world!" she jokes.

Suddenly, he becomes quite still. "You're right... I could learn something new to occupy my mind."

She notices something is off. "I've got no clue what you're thinking, but it is apparently a terrible idea."

"You know what? I'm gonna hop over to the sanctum and visit Wong..."

"What has Wong to do with–?" She begins, then it strikes her what he means. "No! Of all the hobbies you can choose... magic? No! I forbid you to do that! You're not going to exchange one potentially deadly lifestyle for another!"

"Pep, not every sorcerer fights to protect the multiverse."

"As if you could stay away from a battle!"

But he already is out of the door.

Half an hour later, he returns from the sanctum and starts packing a travel bag.

"What are you doing?" Pepper follows him into the bedroom. With her arms crossed, she eyes him warily.

"I'm going to Kathmandu."

"You're joking, right?"

"It's not for long, Pep. I'm just going for the beginner crash course – That's gonna take a couple of weeks at most."

"Weeks? You leave me alone for weeks?"

"You're not alone! You have Morgan and Happy, Rhodey – and Stephen should be back soon, you're hardly gonna notice that I'm not here."

"That has to be the most stupid thing you've ever said, and there was a lot of stupid in the years I've known you!"

"Pep..."

"Okay. One week."

Confused, he gazes at her. "Why only one week?"

"Because it will take you one week until you lose interest and come back home."

She realizes saying this was a mistake when he starts to grin.

"Challenge accepted."

"That wasn't a challenge," she says with a death stare.

"Sounded like one," he shrugs.

"Tony!" She hates how whiny she sounds, but she can't help it. Every so often it is impossible to argue like an adult with him.

"You don't even like magic! You always go on and on how much you distrust everything magical."

"I haven't said that in a long time," he argues, and Pepper has to admit this is true.

"Also, Stephen is magical, and I love him very much. So maybe magic isn't that bad after all..."

"Tony, are you having a midlife crisis?"

"Honey, I'm nearly sixty. I'm way too old for a midlife crisis." He zips his bag shut and picks it up. "Anyways, it isn't that big a deal – I'm not far away."

"Kathmandu is on the other side of the world!"

"Yeah, but the Sanctum has a permanent portal to Kamar-Taj, so it kinda is just over the street..."

At long last, she resigns. "Then go. I don't see any sense in it, but that never stopped you, did it?"

He kisses her on the temple and rushes out of the room. "Love you, Pep!"

A week later, Stephen finally returns home. Exhausted beyond words, he drops into their shared bed like a stone without even noticing the absence of Tony.

When he asks about him the next morning, Pepper tells him about Tony's newest obsession.

"So he's at Kamar-Taj?" Stephen asks while he watches the coffee maker grinding the beans and brewing the coffee.

When he takes the first sip, he moans, "You have no idea how much I missed Tony's coffee."

Trust Tony Stark to spare no costs for getting the good stuff.

Stephen sets aside the cup and pulls Pepper into his arms. "...and you have no idea how much I missed you."

He leans in and kisses her.

"You taste like coffee," she laughs.

"I taste like damn good coffee," he jokes. After a moment, he sighs and hugs her even tighter. "Four weeks in the blandest and most boring dimension imaginable. They don't even have colors there, let alone food or drinks that taste like anything else than wallpaper paste. Made me realize how lucky I am."

"We missed you too." Slowly she runs a hand through his hair.

He relaxes, puts his head onto her shoulder, and practically melts into the embrace.

"What do you think about a shower?" she asks eventually.

Self-consciously, he steps away from her and sniffs.

"Do you think I need one?"

"No, but I need one, and want you to join me." With a predatory smile, she pulls him close again.

"Oh," he sputters, "sounds great."

Later that day, after Stephen and Pepper finally have run out of excuses not to put clothes on, Stephen goes to meet Wong at the Sanctum Sanctorum. To his surprise, he is greeted by Master Lee, who guards the sanctum in the librarian's absence.

"Wong declared it was vital to tidy up the library of the Kamar-Taj, for some reason," Master Lee explains.

"What? Now? That couldn't wait until I was back again?" Stephen asks, skeptical.

"Master Wong said it cannot be delayed, but to be honest, everyone knows he just wants to be there because of the new recruit of the Kamar-Taj." The master waggles an eyebrow.

Stephen doesn't answer, he just nods. He bids the other master goodbye and leaves through the portal to the Kamar-Taj.

Due to the time difference, it is already night in Kathmandu. Knowing that nearly everyone on the compound is most likely asleep, Stephen heads straight to the library.

"Wong?"

"Strange! I expected you much earlier back," a voice answers behind a high shelf. "What took you so long?"

The librarian steps into the aisle, a stack of dusty books in his arms.

"Oh, you expected me? But the library was such disarray that you couldn't wait to re-order it until I'm back? You left the sanctum unattended!"

"It's not unattended! I appointed Master Lee as our stand-in."

Stephen rolls his eyes. "We both know how unqualified Master Lee is for this kind of job!"

At this, the stoic facade of Wong starts to crumble. "Okay. You got me! I wanted to see for myself how well Stark's doing!"

Stephen's anger evaporates instantly when Wong mentions Tony and is replaced with curiosity.

"And? How is he doing?"

Wong doesn't answer, he just points at one of the windows to the courtyard.

Not knowing what to expect, Stephen walks to the window and peers outside. There is a lonely figure in the dark, practicing spells, drawing glowing lines into the air in front of him. Without a doubt, this figure is Tony.

"How long has he been doing this?" he asks Wong.

"About a week."

"Dammit, he's good! I wasn't that good after a week!"

"You weren't that good after a month!"

Stephen stares at him, looking hurt.

"But in your defense, you had a hard time accepting that magic is real, so it took you a while longer to reach your full potential."

With a smile on his face, Stephen watches Tony practicing as he draws glowing mandalas into the air before him. They are the simple patterns every beginner starts with, but Tony has a grace and power to it that catches Stephen by surprise.

"Pepper's going to kill me, but I won't tell Tony to stop learning the Mystic Arts," Stephen sighs.

"I understand. That would be a waste."

"I think I will go and greet him. It's been four weeks since we last saw each other..."

"Yes, all right, but please be aware that some of the bedrooms have windows that open to the yard."

"What's that supposed to mean? I'm not going to fuck him here and now!"

"Why? Would it be the other way round?"

"Listen, Wong, my sex life is none of your business, but let me tell you: I had a very... satisfying... morning with the missus. So, I'm quite good at the moment."

"I really didn't want to know that!"

Stephen smiles at him, feigning innocence. "You started it." 

"Since you're together with them, you behave like a horny teenager!"

"I have to make good for the five years I was dusted."

Wong gives him a death stare but doesn't say anything.

With a chuckle, Stephen leaves the library. "See you later, Wong."

A chilly night breeze blows through Stephen's hair when he crosses the yard. Smiling, he leans against a pillar and watches Tony, until the other man notices him.

"Hey, Babe. Are you going to tell me this is stupid, and I should come to my senses and stop this shit?" Tony asks without stopping his movements.

Stephen shakes his head, closes the distance between them. He embraces Tony from behind and kisses his cheek. "No, quite the opposite. Rarely have I seen a rookie being that good after only a week."

Tony turns and puts his hands around Stephen's shoulders and starts to play with the errant curl in the nape of the neck. That sends a shudder down the sorcerer's spine.

"So, I have talent?"

"Of course you have. Like I said you would."

"When did you say that?"

"That first evening, when Pepper invited Wong, me, and some others for dinner. Don't you remember?"

"Oh gosh, that was ages ago..."

"Three years."

"Only three years? Feels like a different life..." Tony leans in and kisses Stephen slowly. "I missed you."

"So did I." Softly, Stephen puts their foreheads together. "We should probably go to your room. If Wong catches us doing anything more adult than kiss here out in the open, he will kill us."

At this, Tony has a giggle fit. "Is he still pissed that we defiled the sanctum library last month?"

"I think so, yes."

"Shame. It was one of the best blow jobs I ever gave."

Still grinning, Stephen rolls his eyes. "Of course, Tony. You were amazing."

"Hey! I'm a hard-working guy. Give me some credit."

Stephen leans in to whisper in Tony's ear, "Come with me, and I'll give you far more than just credit." Slowly he plants a trail of kisses on Tony's jaw. With a sigh, Tony closes his eyes and lets his head fall back, what Stephen takes as an encouragement to continue further down the neck.

"Yeah, you're right... this would be much nicer in my bed..."

Tony hooks Stephen's arm over his shoulder. Together they stroll towards Tony's room, exchanging kisses here and there, grinning like idiots.

But they don't get far. When Tony and Stephen arrive at the door to the dormitory, they are stopped by a devastated looking Pepper.

"Pep, my god! What happened?"

Nervously, she twiddles with her phone. "I just got the news that Steve Rogers passed away last night."

"Was it..." Tony begins, but his voice breaks before he can finish the question.

"Natural causes. That's the official statement from the Avengers. He was an old man."

Stephen puts his arm around the engineer to support him. He doesn't like Rogers much, but he knows that Tony consideres the Avenger to be one of his closest friends, despite everything that happened in the past.

"When's the funeral?"

"Friday next week."

"Okay. Tell the Avengers I'm gonna be back in time for the funeral."

"What?" Pepper asks, flustered. "You want to stay here?"

"Of course, I want to stay here! What am I supposed to do back in New York? Help with the funeral arrangements? I'm sure more qualified people can handle this. People that were closer to him!" He turns toward the door. "If you excuse me now, I'm tired."

Without waiting for an answer, he enters the building, leaves Pepper and Stephen behind. They exchange a concerned look.

"You should stay here with him," Stephen says eventually.

"Yes, but what about you?"

"Someone has to pick up Morgan from school..."

"I'm sure Happy could do that," she suggests.

"No. He's busy with the restaurant, and I don't want to bother him all the time." He rubs her shoulder tenderly with one hand. "So, I'll go, get her Majesty, grab something to eat and bring her here. You know how much she likes spending the night here at Kamar-Taj."

"Okay. See you later, then." She gives him a long kiss on the mouth before she turns to follow Tony.


	3. Last Honors for a Legend

Steve Roger's burial one week later is nothing short of a state funeral.

Everyone who is anyone are gathered: the Avengers, politicians, celebrities, and a massive crowd of mourning citizens as well as curious onlookers.

As an Avenger, Tony gets to sit with Pepper and Morgan in the front row. Fretfully, he listens as one dignitary after the other is giving speeches about the service and the accomplishments of Captain America, and he wants to scream.

Nobody of those people really knew the real Steven Rogers, let alone Grant Carter! How dare they stepping in front of the crowd to talk about the man as if he was some abstract ideal, not a living, breathing human being!

As Tony gazes through the rows of people, his eyes find Bucky Barnes in the crowd, who sits next to Sam Wilson.

Tony and Barnes will never be friends. Still, since the Winter Soldier is presently a semi-permanent member of the Avengers, Tony has at least come to appreciate him on a professional level. Now, when Tony looks at Barnes, he wonders if the man maybe has lost more than just his best friend. It's hard to say what goes on behind the stoic facade of the soldier.

Suddenly, somebody tugs at his sleeve. It is Morgan, who loos up at him with big eyes.

"Where is Papa?"

"He's there in the back with Wong, look," he points through a gap in the crowd towards Stephen and Wong.

"Why aren't they here with us?"

"Because only the Avengers are allowed to sit in the front."

"I'm not an Avenger, and neither is Mommy," Morgan states.

"Yes, but you are my family, so you are okay."

She looks at him, appalled. "But Papa is family too!"

Tony sighs. They have decided they don't want to make their relationship public. The boulevard press would have a field day with that kind of story, so they have mutually agreed that it wouldn't be worth the trouble.

If it were only about Tony, he would say screw it and tell the whole world. Still, he has to consider the consequences for his loved ones: What would this do to Pepper's reputation as the CEO of Stark Industries?

And Stephen? The sorcerers of Kamar-Taj have been operating in secret for thousands of years now, but what would happen if one of them turned into a media sensation overnight?

No, definitely not worth the trouble.

But how can he explain to his little girl that they live in a society that would disapprove of their love?

He doesn't know, so he lies: "Yes, he is, but Wong isn't. So he stays in the back to keep Wong company."

That pacifies her.

But it doesn't pacify Tony. The lie keeps burning in the back of his mind.

When the funeral ends, Happy drives them together with Wong and Stephen home. Wong rides in the front, along with Happy, while Pepper, Stephen, and Tony are squeezed in the back with Morgan on Stephen's lap. They could have teleported, but they didn't want to draw attention to them by opening a portal.

Lost in thought, Tony stares out of the window.

"Hey, you." Stephen strokes his arm, smirking warmly.

"Hey, you too," Tony replies.

"Will you tell me what's going on in your head?"

He has no idea what to say to sum up the turmoil in his thoughts right now, so he shrugs.

"I guess I just want you to know how happy I am to have you. All of you, but you in particular." He looks up at Stephen. "You know that, right?"

Stephen's smile falters.

"Tony, what's wrong?" he asks, concerned.

"Nothing," Tony dismisses, "Just a lot on my mind, you know."

Stephen nods slowly. "It's never easy to lose a friend."

Morgan crawls from Stephen to Tony and squishes her father's face. "Don't worry. As long as we have each other, everything will be all right."

"Who told you that?" Tony asks.

"My dad," she grins.

"Really? Smart man."

"But I mean you, dummy!" Morgan laughs.

"Hey, I really don't think it's a good idea when Morgan rides without a seatbelt on!" Happy yells suddenly from the front.

Tony, glad for the distraction, takes the opportunity to change the subject.

"It's only this once, Hap. So you'll drive carefully, and we'll be home in five minutes anyways."

Happy glares through the rearview mirror at him but doesn't say anything else.

When they arrive at home, Tony follows Wong toward the Sanctum Sanctorum.

"Where are you going, Tony?" Pepper asks.

"Back to Kamat-Taj. I'm gonna finish up there and be back with you in a couple of days."

"Why don't you stay at least tonight with us?"

Tony notices how concerned she sounds, and he pauses for a moment. The thought is tempting – spending the evening curled up on the cozy sofa with his loved ones instead of the cold and lonely cot that awaits him in Kamar-Taj.

He looks at her standing there with her arms around Morgan's shoulders, Stephen's arm around her hip and everything in Tony logs to step into their embrace. But no: he is dead set on completing what he has started.

"Tempting," he says, "Sorry, I have to finish this first."

Stephen nods but Pepper doesn't react.

Eventually, Wong clears his throat, "Come on, I'm not going to stand here all night!"

With a heavy heart, Tony tears himself away from his loved ones and follows the librarian to Kamar-Taj.


	4. Alternative Facts

Two weeks after Rogers' funeral, Tony is summoned by Wong to the library of Kamar-Taj.

"What's wrong, Wong?"

Wong looks up from a pile of old parchments.

"Stark. Please sit down."

"Now you worry me, Dumbledore."

"No need." He puts the parchments to the side and grabs a sheet of paper from another pile. "I just summoned you to tell you I talked to your instructors. All of them tell me how good you have done and that you have completed what we consider the basic course. Congratulations, you can officially call yourself a sorcerer."

"What?" Tony asks. "That's it? No certificate, no graduation ceremony? No ritual act where I pledge my loyalty to the Order of the Jedi?"

Wong shrugs. "No, usually, we would assign you to the duties every new sorcerer has to fulfill at the Kamar-Taj, while you specialize in your studies." He looks Tony straight into the eyes. "A process that usually takes years. I'm pretty sure that this is not a goal you plan to pursue, right?"

Tony just shakes his head.

"Go home, then. They wait for you." Wong shows his rare smile to the inventor. "If you want to continue your studies into the mystic arts, I see no reason why you couldn't do that in the New York Sanctum under the guidance of the Sorcerer Supreme."

"I would like that very much," Tony answers feeling excited at the prospect of seeing his family again.

"Great! Off you go, then! I'll have your things sent after you later." 

When Tony turns to go to the portal room in the back of the library, Wong calls after him, "Oh, I forgot – you have to use your sling ring. The portals are turned off today. For the annual inspection."

"Got it." Tony puts on the ring and wishes himself back home. Without hesitation, he steps into the circle of light.

The moment he emerges on the other side, he realizes something went wrong. Instead of the cozy living room of their apartment in Sullivan Street, he stands in the lounge of the penthouse in the Avengers Tower. High above the city, the glass fronts of the surrounding buildings sparkle in the morning sun. 

He follows the rumbling of the coffeemaker into the kitchen. There, his back turned to the door, stands Stephen, waiting for his coffee to be brewed.

"Go away, I have nothing else to say to you, Tony! I'm just getting a fucking coffee, then I'm gone!"

He turns around, and Tony takes in the appearance of the other man. He has Stephen never seen like this; in suit and tie, looking like an insurance salesman. His grey temples have been dyed dark to match the rest of his hair, and his face is clean-shaven. It is such an unfamiliar look that Tony has to blink and stare again.

"What happened to your beard?" he asks. "...and what are those clothes?"

"Really, Tony?! I'm telling you that I'm breaking up with you, and that is the first thing you ask? I mean, what the hell is it _you_ are wearing?"

Tony looks down at the dark red sorcerer robes he had left Kamar-Taj in. 

"Well, not all of us can rock the excentric billionaire style!" Stephen continues, "Some have to look presentable for our day job, as the director of their own clinic, for example." He stops and shakes his head. "I can't believe I'm still falling for your shit! Always making stupid, unfunny jokes, especially when they're the most inappropriate. Is there anything you take seriously?"

"I... what?" Tony stammers. He feels like he's trapped in a nightmare. Stephen has been angry with him more than once, but usually, Tony was aware of what he did wrong. He stares at Insurance-Salesman-Stephen, for the first time in his life lost for words.

Suddenly someone behind Tony calls, "Come on, babe! I'm sure we'll find a solution that will be satisfactory for all of us."

Tony slowly turns to the new arrival and sees a different version of himself storming into the kitchen. He's hastily tying the front of his dressing-gown shut when he realizes he and Stephen aren't alone. 

Stephen's face turns from angry to downright murderous.

"Wow, Tony. That is a whole new low, even for you." He points at our Tony. "Sending one of your Life Model Decoys to smooth things over, instead of doing it yourself? That is an entirely new level of douchebaggery."

"He's not an LMD!" Dressing-Gown-Tony tries to defend himself.

"Of course, he is! Look at him! He's broken, by the way, his hand is glowing!"

Oddly self-conscious, our Tony looks down at his artificial arm.

"Okay, maybe he is one of my LMDs, but I didn't deploy him! He must have activated himself. Those damn androids glitch out every now and then, you know that."

Stephen brushes past both of the Tonys. 

"Honey, come on, please! We can talk about this. We can find a way! We always do."

Stephen stops, turns sharply, and glares at Dressing-Gown-Tony.

"You promised me you would come with me to the medical society's banquet next week! One of the most important nights of my career–"

"Babe, please... It's Howie and Ed's sixteenth birthday. I have to be there."

"No! Shut up!" Stephen yells.

"But..."

"For once in your life, Tony Stark, you will shut up and listen! You know how important this evening is for me. You promised you'd be there! But instead, you're going back playing perfect family. As you always do!" 

He runs shaking fingers through his hair. Perfect fingers, without any trace of a scar.

"You know, I'm so sick and tired of being _the other woman_! I could do so much better! All those years I gave you. All those times, Christine told me to drop you, and I didn't listen. Hell, I even defended you because you told me you would leave them once the boys are old enough. But that will never happen, right? I was just too afraid to admit to myself that she will always be the one you'll love. Perfect Pepper Potts. Not me. Never me." He takes a deep breath. "So, I finally do the one thing I should have done years ago – for myself's sake. Goodbye Tony Stark. Never call me again!"

Dressing-Gown-Tony runs after him, while our Tony watches in horror.

"Please," Dressing-Gown-Tony pleads, desperation apparent in his voice, "don't leave me! I know I'm a selfish bastard, but I can't live without you. I love you both so much! Please don't force me to choose..." 

He grabs Stephen's arm, tries to hold the doctor back. Disgusted, Stephen shoves him away so hard that Tony trips and tumbles to the ground.

"You have chosen Tony. You have chosen." Without a look back, Stephen steps into the elevator, leaving the Avengers-Tower for good.

Dressing-Gown-Tony on the floor rolls himself into a tight ball and begins to cry. 

Our Tony takes a cautious step into his direction. Wondering what the hell is going on, he looks at the sobbing mess that is his double. The man at his feet looks like him, but he can also spot subtle differences. For example, the circular scar on his chest, where the Arc reactor has been, is nowhere to be found.

Once again, he asks himself, where the hell his magic has brought him. Has he been catapulted into a nightmare? But no, he never dreamt something like this. Him cheating on Pepper with Stephen. The mere thought is ridiculous. And why the hell would he call his sons Howie and Ed? Who would come up with such a stupid idea? Yes, he made his peace with Howard, but that doesn't mean he would name his child after his father. Ever.

Also, if this is a nightmare, why does he experience it in the third person? Not very nightmarish.

 _So, no nightmare_ , Tony decides. 

Maybe Wong is testing him – a final examination to see how well he is performing as a sorcerer? Possible, but not very probable. The sorcerers tend to be very upfront if you are tested. A trade Tony has always liked.

That means... maybe he accidentally crossed the barriers between the dimensions and landed in a parallel universe. An alternative timeline.

Interesting.

But how did he end up here? The magic portals are influenced by their creator's wishes. When Tony opened the gateway, all he thought about was home. But is there another place where he instead wants to be? Deep down, hidden in his subconsciousness? 

No! 

He wants to see his family! The people he loves. Why would he want to be here, seeing how his cheating double was dumped by a miserable lover? He looks back at the man on the ground, the man who most surely has led a life quite different from his own. The missing reactor scar is a clear indicator of that.

Wearily, he extends his synthetical arm to reach out for the sobbing man.

Faster than Tony's mind can grasp, the other man is on his feet. He grabs something from a nearby sideboard and slaps it onto his chest. The armor around him forms immediately, and repulsor blasts are raining down on our surprised Tony. 

Guided by pure instinct, our Tony uses his magic to form a protective shield in front of his body, giving him time to analyze the situation.

"You stupid piece of electronic trash! I should have scraped you and your construction defect siblings ages ago!" the other Tony screams at the top of his lungs. Blindly, he fires at what he perceives as a defective android.

Our Tony meanwhile thanks all the deities in the multiverse for Wong's rigorous and thorough fight training. Skillfully he deflects the blasts. He turnes the reflected repulsor fire into his own weapon, which takes the other Tony by surprise. Our Tony uses this opportunity to cast an explosion spell that detonates small charges all over the weak spots of the other Tony's armor. Just as he calculated, the suit loses all structural integrity and tumbles in pieces to the ground, leaving its wearer wholly unprotected. Our Tony conjures a saber made from magical fire and holds it to the other Tony's neck. "One wrong move and you're kebab."


	5. Uncle Grant

"Who are you?" the other Tony asks while he slings the dressing gown tighter around his naked body. 

"I'm you," our Tony replies, a disgusted look on his face, "only better."

"How?"

"Multiverse."

"How did you-"

"Magic."

"You're crazy. Magic isn't real."

With a grin, our Tony wiggles the fire saber at the other man's throat. The stench of burned hair from the other Tony's beard flares up. 

"You sure about that?"

The other Tony glares angrily at him. He tries to move towards one of the pieces of armor around his feet, but our Tony stops him. Glowing, red bands wind around the other Tony's body, immobilizing him in the process. Surprised, he loses balance and stumbles to the ground.

"What do you want?" he spatters from the floor, squirming in his bonds.

"If I only knew that..."

"You come here, invade my privacy, attack me, and don't even know why?"

"Hey! You are the one who shot first, Han!" our Tony says, while he takes his time looking around. "Also, I certainly didn't _want_ to come here!"

The other Tony rolls around until he finds a halfway comfortable position. "And what do you plan to do now?"

With a shrug, our Tony sits down beside him. "I could free you. But you would probably attack me again." He sighs. 

"Why don't you just piss off to where you came from?"

"I think I'm here for a reason, and I want to find out what it is," our Tony muses. "Maybe I'm here to tell you what an idiot you are if you let this man walk away."

"Who? Stephen?"

"Yes, of course, Stephen! How many other men were here in the last minutes?"

"My relationships are none of your business!" the other Tony yells.

"Yeah, and I've seen how well you are doing..."

"Oh, yes? And of course, you know it so much better? You think I should leave Pepper?"

"No! Idiot!"

"I don't get it. Stephen drops me if I stay with Pepper."

Our Tony rolls his eyes. "And they call _you_ the futurist... Just try to think outside of the box!"

"What are you talking about, you maniac?"

Shaking his head, our Tony pulls his phone out of his pocket. He projects a video into the air in front of his double. With a triumphant grin, he observes the other man's reaction. 

The video he shows is one that Wong took it in Happy's restaurant a month ago. It was Morgan's birthday and shows Pepper and Stephen; she on his lap, deeply wrapped in an embrace, watching Tony and Morgan dance in the background. When the music ends, and another song starts, Pepper gets up and pulls Stephen with her. Together they walk over to Tony and Morgan. They switch partners, and Pepper dances with Morgan, while Tony and Stephen watch them, arms tightly around each other.

Tony lays his head on Stephen's shoulder, and Stephen kisses his forehead. Then Tony turns his head up to capture Stephen's lips in a real kiss.

"You two, get a room. This is disgusting!" Wong yells off-camera, and the recording stops.

With a soft smile, our Tony puts away his phone.

"What was that?" the other Tony asks.

"The birthday of our daughter." Our Tony looks at his counterpart. "You never thought that maybe there was the possibility that Pepper and Stephen could like each other, dipshit?"

"You mean...?"

"We love each other, we live together, we're raising our kid together... we have sex! And when one of us is away, the other two take care of each other!"

The other Tony stares at him with a blank expression. "You make that sound so easy..."

"Well, actually, it kinda was... Pepper figured it out before Stephen and I did. Sometimes I don't know how I deserve this woman."

Suddenly, the door to the stairs bursts open and in storms, a tall man, round shield held in front of his body. The man is obviously Steve Rogers, older than the Steve, who left to bring the stones back to their timelines, but younger than the old man who returned. After him, follow Sam Wilson, James Barnes, and another, younger Steve Rogers.

Surprised, they stop, when they see the two Tony Starks on the floor – one lying there uncomfortable and the other lounging next to him.

"Hey there!" our Tony greets them, putting on a fake smile. "If that ain't four Captain Americas in one package," he says, looking at the nearly identical getup of Steve the Younger, Wilson, and Barnes. On top of their very similar Captain-America-uniforms, each of them holds a slightly different version of the shield.

"What's going on here?" the older Steve asks.

"I got here by accident and this douchecanoe," our Tony gives his double a half-hearted kick, "attacked me for no reason!"

"F.R.I.D.A.Y. alarmed us that Tony was attacked by an intruder," the older Steve looks around until his eyes land on our Tony. "Where did you come from?"

"From Kathmandu! I just wanted to get home to New York, to my family!" 

"So you're not one of those wonky LMDs?" Wilson asks.

Angrily our Tony gestures to his greying hair. "Do I look synthetic to you?" 

Then, a thought occurs to him. "Wait..." he says, looking at the older Steve, "are you the Steve Rogers from my timeline?"

Steve lets the shield sink, his face turned ashen grey. "Tony?" 

"The one and only." He looks at the other Tony and corrects himself, "Well, usually I am."

"You were in a coma when I left... they told me there was no hope for you..."

"Yeah... being loved by the sorcerer supreme has its perks." He has to grin at Steves's blank stare. "They healed me with magic."

"Strange?"

"Yeah," Tony nods, "he and Pepper." He holds up his right arm. "The only thing they couldn't fix was the arm. But I took care of that."

"You know this guy, uncle Grant?" the other Tony interrupts unexpectedly.

"Yes... He's from my timeline. I thought he was dead." Steve's voice wavers slightly as he is explaining this.

"You think you can trust him?" the younger Steve asks. Then he turns to our Tony, "How did you get here?"

Our Tony just shrugs. "Magic. I've started learning it. Everyone needs a hobby."

"If you are who you say you are, maybe you should show that you have no bad intentions," Barnes suggests while pointing at the other Tony, "by releasing our teammate!"

"Fair enough," our Tony says and dissolves the spell that binds the other Tony.

As soon as the other man is free, he scuttles behind his friends as fast as possible and summons his armor.

Our Tony rolls his eyes and gets to his feet. He orders his tangled sorcerer robes, not knowing what to do next.

"Come with me. We need to talk in private," 'uncle Grant' says and turns to the elevator. 


	6. The Time Traveler's Wife

The doors open with a ping, the moment "Uncle Gant" steps in front of them.

Slowly, our Tony follows him.

" _Uncle_ Grant, really?" Tony asks once the doors have closed behind them, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

He doesn't know what to think, how to feel – the last thing he expected was to find his Steve Rogers here. Alive and well. It took him the last weeks to come to terms with how hard the loss of his old friend has hit him. So he does what he usually does in situations like this: deflecting with humor or sarcasm.

Steve doesn't react. He just stands in front of Tony and stares at him. Then, without warning, he throws his arms around the engineer's shoulders and hugs him tightly.

"I thought I'd never see you again..." Steve sighs.

Tony huffs a humorless laugh. "Same. I attended your funeral just two weeks ago."

"What? How? Why would there be a funeral for me back home?" Steve seems to calculate something in his head. "Three years after I went away..."

"You returned. To pass on the shield," Tony answers sheepishly. There are so many things he wants to say and questions he wants to ask, but he is too stunned to form any coherent thought, so he just reacts to whatever Steve says.

"I don't plan to go back," Steve states.

"But you have to. It already happened. At least from my standpoint. How paradoxical." He sees the worry in Steve's eyes. "But you still have time – a lot of time. You were an old man, practically ancient..."

The elevator doors open with another ping sound. Confused, Tony looks outside to see a room that is not Tony's penthouse. He hasn't even realized that they moved.

"Come with me," Steve says.

The hall outside the elevator reminds Tony a lot of the rec room at the Avenger Compound. It just has a better view: In the middle of the city, high above the roofs of the surrounding buildings.

When they step out of the elevator, Tony notices three people on a table in the corner of the room: Natasha, Clint, and a young man Tony recognizes as Wanda Maximaoff's dead brother. Pablo or something like that...

Nat sits up and asks, "Hey Grant, what's going on up there? You need any help?"

"No." He puts his hand on Tony's shoulder and pushes him towards the table. "Guys, let me introduce to you: Tony Stark from my timeline."

"Hi," Tony waves at them with his artificial arm.

"Are you sure?" Natasha eyes Tony critically. "He could be an imposter who wants to infiltrate the Avengers."

"Good to see you're alive and as paranoid as ever, Nat," Tony says with a charming grin. "I really just want to go home to my family. I'll be out of your hair faster than you can say 'Soul Stone'."

Nat doesn't answer; she just looks irritated at him. Obviously, she didn't get the 'joke'. Granted, it isn't one of Tony's best ones, but in his defense, he hasn't expected to meet so many dead people today. He really wishes he had a moment to himself to sort out his thoughts.

"We go outside for a talk," Steve explains to the others and leads Tony through a glass door to the landing pad of the Quinjet.

Suddenly Tony remembers something Old Steve has told him.

"Wait... I thought your super serum has worn off. What are you doing here at the Avengers Tower? You just can't resist playing the hero, right?"

"It has worn off mostly. A bit of super is still left," Steve confesses. "But you're right. I can't quit the Avengers, even if my role is solely consultatory these days."

Now that they are alone, Tony finally has the time to take in Steve's appearance:

If he were a normal person, Tony would guess him to be in his mid-sixties. He wears his usual outfit that could easily be described as casual wear for an 80-year-old man: a blue checkered shirt and beige pants. His hair is mostly grey, as is the beard he's grown.

"Nice beard. Suits you," Tony says with a crooked smile.

"Is that all you have to say? After all this time?"

"What do you mean, Rogers? It's been only three weeks since I last saw you!"

"Really?"

"Yupp. That's the thing with this wibbily wobbly timey wimey... stuff."

Steve huffs a laugh. "I had a lot of time to think... and I want to apologize... for a lot of things–"

Tony shakes his head and holds up a hand to stop him. "Don't! You already have." When he sees Steve's questioning look, he adds, "I mean, you will. Your future. My past... God, I feel like the time traveler's wife..."

A sudden realization hit Tony with the force of the Hulk's right hook: Steve Rogers wasn't dead – he was just in a parallel universe! And even more important, he won't go anywhere in the next couple of decades. Old Steve had told Tony that he had stayed here until the last of his sons died. His sons, who grew up together with the Tony from this universe. So they had to be roughly Tony's age. Maybe they will grow old enough to outlive him. That means Steve would stay here for the rest of Tony's life – or longer even. Maybe the old Steve had been to Tony's funeral, too?

No, Tony doesn't want to think about something like that right now! He has found his supposedly dead friend, and he accidentally has discovered a way to get here whenever he wants. Sure, he first has to ask Stephen if this is okay – he doesn't want to do something stupid and unravel the whole multiverse by accident.

Steve seems to sense his excitement. "So, how have you been?" he asks.

They sit down, and Tony tells him everything that happened in the last three years: How Stephen and Pepper saved his life, the rebuilding of the Avengers compound, how he, Pepper and Morgan moved back to the city, Happy's restaurant, how he started to learn magic – everything that happened up to Steve's funeral. 

A long time after Tony has finished, Steve still sits there and stares over the roofs of New York. 

"So, I'm dead now?" he murmurs eventually.

"No! Of course, you're not! You're sitting right beside me!"

"But how is this possible? You said that wasn't how time travel works..."

"Yeah, but we're mixing quantum physics and magic here. I'm not sure anyone in the world fully understands how that works exactly," Tony shrugs, "and I'm not gonna question it. I'm just glad to have you back, pal."

With a wide grin, he turns to Steve and puts his hand on his shoulder. 

Steve gins back. "I could tell you my story, but–"

"You already did, yeah," Tony finishes the sentence. "Tho, your older self didn't tell me about this here – that I came here to your world!" He catches a mischievous flicker in Steve's face. "...and by saying that, I just made sure you never will, right?"

"Right. Better not risk any paradoxes, that destroy our universes," Steve laughs. "We worked hard enough to keep those damn things safe!"

Together they laugh, then Tony turns serious again. There is something that still bugs him. 

"So the other me is kind of a douchebag, hu?"

"I wouldn't say that," Steve says with a sad shake of his head, "He's a good man. He tries very hard. It's just..." He stops, lost for words. "He, unfortunately, loves two people equally, and can't let one of them go..."

"So you know?"

"Everyone knows – or at least everyone who can put two and two together... you could say it is an open secret."

Tony mumbles an unintelligible curse.

"Don't be so harsh on him," Steve says, sounding sad. "You are the lucky one. You never had to make that decision, so you don't know how it feels..."

"Oh, but you know, of course," Tony replies mockingly. When Steve looks away and takes a deep breath, he stops and thinks. Is it possible that the heart of the supersoldier belongs to another person besides Peggy Carter? 

Through the enormous panorama windows, they look back into the common room. Right on cue, the elevator doors open, and Sam Wilson, talking to the other Tony, steps into the hall. They're followed by the younger Steve and James Barnes, discretely holding hands.

"Oh..." Tony murmurs when he comprehends what he sees.

"I took so much from him already, I had to leave at least this to him," Steve says, looking at his younger double. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. Peggy and I, we had seventy beautiful years together. But I know how it feels to be at this point where you have to make this decision."

Tony feels sad for his friend. "So, you love him?" Tony asks, even if the answer is obvious.

"I've always loved him..."

Suddenly, a thought flashes through the inventor's mind – it's the image of James Barnes, all in black at Steve Roger's funeral. "He's still there, you know?" 

When Steve stares at him questioningly, Tony elaborates, "Your Bucky. He is still there. Probably heartbroken, because you are dead."

Steve nods slowly. "Yes, but I am here, and he is there..."

"Yeah, but I'm here too, even though I shouldn't."

A glimmer of hope appears in Steve's eyes. "You mean...?"

"I mean, I have to ask the Sorcerer Supreme if we are destroying our realities by hopping from one to the other as we please, but other than that, I see no problem."

"You would do that?"

"Sure thing!"

"Could you... now?"

Tony throws his real arm around his shoulder and hugs pulls him into a bone-crushing hug. "Of course, old man!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow this evolved into a Stucky fic. That wasn't planned, but I kinda like it. If you don't, my dear reader, I'm sorry for that.


	7. Reunions

With a wide grin, Tony slides his sling ring on his fingers, claps his heels together three times, and says, "There's no place like home," before he opens a portal with the usual circling motion. It leads directly to the kitchen of the Stark's apartment, where Pepper sits with Morgan at the table, helping their daughter with her homework.

When Tony steps through the open portal, they look up.

Morgan immediately jumps to her feet and hugs Tony. "Daddy!"

"There you are! We were wondering what took you so long. Wong told us you left Kamar-Taj hours ago," Pepper says. She doesn't sound worried.

Tony steps aside to reveal Steve, who still stands on the other side of the portal.

"Oh! Hi, Steve... you seem younger..." Pepper stammers.

Steve wants to respond, but at this moment, Stephen opens the apartment door and walks into the room.

"...Wong said Tony didn't tell him he wanted to stop by somewhere else. He thought Tony wanted to come home straight away," he stops when he sees the open portal. "There you are, Tony!" His eyes fall on Steve. "Captain Rogers," he says frostily, distrust apparent in his voice. "I thought you were dead – but it seems like you got... better." 

Tony jumps in and tells them what has happened since he departed from Kamar-Taj.

By the time he ends his account, they have gathered around the kitchen table, Morgan in Tony's lap, Steve opposite of Pepper and Stephen. The sorcerer has laid his arm around Pepper's shoulder and is still eyeing the former supersoldier suspiciously. 

"Would it be a problem if we frequently travel from one universe to the other?" Steve asks, wringing his fingers in a nervous gesture.

"No." Stephen shakes his head. "We sorcerers have traveled between the worlds for centuries. The walls between the universes usually are quite sturdy. I wouldn't recommend creating a permanent gateway, tho."

Steve leans back in his chair. He looks grateful at Stephen, then he sighs in relief.

Suddenly they hear a knock from the front door.

"Do you expect visitors?" Pepper asks no one in particular.

Stephen shrugs. "Maybe it's Wong or Happy." He gets up and opens the door. For a moment, he just stares at the guest, then he turns back to the table. "Captain Rogers, I suppose it's for you..."

"Who would know that I'm here?" Steve wonders.

Stephen makes a step to the side and the man standing in the doorway: James Buchanan Barnes.

In the blink of an eye, Steve is on his feet, crosses the room, and pulls his old friend into his arms.

"Bucky!" He takes a deep breath, and tears fall onto Barnes' hoodie. "I shouldn't have left you!"

"It's okay." Barnes caresses Steves back and pulls him in closer. "You did what you needed to do. It's okay. I'll always be here for you. Just as I have been for the last three years since you came back."

"I can't believe it!" Tony yells, feeling utterly betrayed. "The old man knew the whole time he was going to... has been... coming back, and he didn't tell me! But he told Barnes exactly the date, time and place?" 

Pepper slabs his chest. "Shut up, Tony! He was dying, so he told his lover that they would meet again."

"When you say it like that, it sounds very romantic."

"Come on, let's give them some privacy," Stephen suggests.

"Sure. I'm hungry. Let's go down to Happy's."

Ten minutes later, the four of them sit on a cozy table in their corner of the Happy Place, tugging into a 'special-Stark-serving' of their favorite foods.

"So, what have we learned today?" Stephen asks between two bites.

"We learned that Steve Rogers isn't dead," is Pepper's answer.

"Time travel is weird and makes things complicated!" Morgan says with a frown.

"If I had to live my life all over again, I wouldn't change a thing," Tony murmurs. "I'll gladly give my arm just to end up at this point," he takes both one of Pepper's and Stephen's hands, pulls them together in the middle of the tabletop, before laying his own on top of them. "together with you. Because I would be absolutely unable to choose between the two of you."

"There's no need to for that," Stephen says reassuringly.

"I know." Tony leans his head onto the doctor's shoulder and closes his eyes with a soft smile. "Lucky me."

When Morgan suddenly winds her arms around his middle and hugs him, he chokes up. She looks up at him with her eyes as big and brown as his own.

For a moment, they just sit there: their hands entangled on the table, his head on Stephen's shoulder, while Morgan is hugging him, and he can't help but sit there, drowning in the warm, happy feeling these points of contact give him. Tony closes his suspiciously wet eyes and enjoys the moment. He just is – surrounded by love, magic sparking through his veins, and his artificial arm's technology reliable on his side. With a happy sigh, he accepts the duality that determines his life now. Simple. Perfect. 

He knows it won't last, but that doesn't matter right now.

When someone clears their throat, he opens his eyes and looks up. How long have they been sitting there like this?

"Sorry. We didn't want to disturb you, but I need to go home." Steve Rogers shuffles awkwardly with his feet, while Barnes stands behind him, this lopsided grin on his face that he so often has.

The patrons around them don't bat an eye. After all, this is New York. Seeing an Avenger or some other celebrity in the streets or a restaurant is not that big a deal.

Tony is surprised; he hadn't heard the two supersoldiers stepping to their table.

Stephen stands up and puts his hand onto Tony's shoulder. "No problem, I'll take care of that." Together with Steve and Barnes, he disappears into the kitchen. After a while, he and Barnes reappear alone. He accompanies Barnes to the front door, and they talk for a while. Eventually, they shake hands, Barnes leaves, and Stephen returns to the table.

"What was that about?" Tony asks after Stephen has sat back down.

"Oh, nothing. I invited him over to the sanctum."

"Why that?"

Stephen looks at Tony with this 'isn't-it-obvious?' look he reserves for Tony's most foolish questions. 

"Someone has to teach Barnes and Rogers how to open a portal to the other universe. Otherwise, we risk ending up as interdimensional taxi-service for them until they get bored with each other."

"Yeah, you're right. How very thoughtful of you."

"Of course, it is!" Stephen rolls his eyes. "I am fully aware that the thought would never have crossed your mind."

"I feel a bit sorry for the other Tony, though," Pepper interrupts their squabble.

"Me too..." Tony sighs.

"We could..." Stephen begins, "maybe _we_ could do something about that."

"Or you make it even worse..." Morgan says.

"Good point," Tony agrees. "I mean, they are quite different from us; this Stephen is not even a sorcerer!"

"He isn't?" Stephen asks, surprised.

"No. He didn't have an accident – so, he's still a surgeon, the director of his own clinic to be precise."

Stephen looks at him but doesn't reply.

"What's wrong, Doc?"

"Nothing's wrong. Why would you ask?"

"You've got this face..."

"What face? It's just my face!" Stephen stares into the mirror on the back wall that is there to make the room look bigger.

"No, that's the face you're making when you realize that the shi-" Tony looks at Morgan and realizes what he nearly has said, "I mean... poop is going to hit the fan!"

"It's just... If he's not the Sorcerer Supreme, who is?"

Tony shrugs. He doesn't know how to answer this. His brief encounter with Steve's World leaves him with a lot of open questions, too. Maybe there would be time to find out the answers to some of them. Later.

"We should finish our meal and go back up," Pepper proposes after sitting there silent.

"Good idea. How about we're having a movie night? Wong's guarding the sanctum, so I'm all yours tonight!" Stephen says.

"Which movie?" Morgan asks.

"The Time Traveler's Wife!" Tony suggests.

"What? You hate this movie!" Pepper says.

"Yeah, maybe – but today, I can strongly identify with it." 

Giggling, they make their way upstairs, where they fall onto the cozy sofa. Cuddled up together, they let F.R.I.D.A.Y. start the movie. When he hears soft snoring from Stephen's direction, Tony has to smile.

He thanks his stars that they led him here. Looking at the sleeping Stephen, at Morgan, who is curled up on Pepper's lap, he feels like he has never felt before getting together with them – he feels whole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for this part of the series! I hope you liked it.  
> In the end, there was a lot more Steve Rogers in this story than originally planned. I apologize to those who didn't like that, and I promise that, should I continue this series, he won't appear again. Maybe he will be mentioned, but that's it.  
> The next part is planned already, by the way. It will bring new additions to the family!


End file.
